


Shifting Winds

by Stories_are_immortal



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Epilogue What Epilogue, Eventual Romance, F/M, More tags may come, Post-War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-02-28 03:00:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13262220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stories_are_immortal/pseuds/Stories_are_immortal
Summary: When Hermione's relationship hits a rocky patch and her life isn't going the way she hoped it would, she comes across an old acquaintance who just may help set her in a new direction.





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first story on the site that has given me so much pleasure over the past few years. As a busy student I can make no promises about keeping an update schedule, but trust me when I say I am as anxious to see this story progress as I hope the rest of you are. Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to JKR, I'm just here to further their stories. Anyway, enjoy ~

The grass had grown long in the autumn months, and it scratched at Hermione’s ankles as her and Ron walked around the yard at the Burrow. There was a crisp breeze, but the arm around her shoulder was helping to keep her warm. Despite having a flat in London, she often came over to stay with Harry and the Weasley’s as being alone was only nice for so long. Ron’s quiet voice broke the self-established silence.    

“What is our plan, Mione?” He led her over to the back steps and sat down.This was a question he asked frequently, yet he never seemed to get the answer that he wanted.    

“What do you mean, Ron,” she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. Their relationship had been a bumpy one from the beginning, but when the war ended it was almost just expected that they had fallen in love and were a couple. For one reason or another, Ron felt like home to Hermione, so she had no reason to try and fight the rumors. Well, other than trying to keep their faces off the front page of every tabloid and paper in Wizarding Britain. Luckily in the past year, the attention had died down a bit.    

“You know, like… where do we go? Are we getting married? Have you thought about kids?” His answer came out all at once, like the pressure behind it had been building for longer than was probably healthy. Hermione sighed.    

“Ronald, you know I haven’t. I’m only 21 years old. I want a career. I just recieved my NEWTs, I want to put them to good use, make a change before I start worrying about bringing my own children into the world.”    

“Well how soon would you be willing to retire then?”    

“How soon would I what?” Hermione's voice got a notch louder as she turned to face him. His face was red. He knew he had said the wrong thing, but it was too late to back out now.    

“You know… how soon would you be willing to give it up to take care of our kids? Like Mum does.”    

“It was never my plan to give up a career to raise a family, Ron. It is very possible to do both, in fact. It never will be my plan to be a stay at home mother, because that’s not who I am. Nothing against your mum, Ron, but we are not the same. I couldn’t live the life she lives.”    

“You don’t have to work though, Hermione. You have money to spare, and I could take care of you easy between my war earnings and my job that I’ll get. You won’t want for anything. You can spend your time taking care of all of our children, and you and Gin can have play dates with the kids and…” He trailed off as he saw her tired expression.    

“Ron, how many times do I need to say it. I will not, barring extreme circumstances that not even Sybil Trelawney could try and predict, be a stay at home mother. I want more than that. I need more than that. The job isn’t for the money, it’s to make the world better, to help every person and creature that I could help. I don’t think you understand what I’m saying.”

“I just don’t get why you would want to go do a boring office job at the ministry everyday when you could be at home raising our kids, Mione. Would that be so horrible a job?”

“It’s not that, Ron. You don’t get it,” she stood up and made for the door. “Just let the subject rest, Ron. We can talk about it again some other time, after you’ve tried to understand where I’m coming from.”

His face was red and he looked like a young boy who had been told he wouldn’t be getting that new broom he wanted for Christmas. It was disheartening to see, and Hermione almost turned around to try and say something else, something kinder, but she couldn’t. She was upset herself. How could he expect her to simply be a stay at home mother. No, not bloody likely. She needed someone else to talk to, to sort out her feelings and frustrations.  

A door upstairs closed and there were footsteps on the stairs. A pair of long legs that ended in some baggy pajama shorts appeared, and soon the whole body, ending in bright red hair, was visible.

“Gin, thank Merlin, just who I wanted to talk to.” Ginny grinned at her as she walked into the kitchen. She shouldered open the fridge and grabbed a bottle of juice as Hermione slid into a seat at the table.

“What can I do you for, ‘Mione?” Bottle in hand, Ginny sat in the seat across the table and leaned forward presenting Hermione with her full attention.

“Ron… he thinks I should be a stay at home mother. Like, no ministry job, no studying, no more adventures, no pursuing my ambitions, nothing. Just get married, hatch some kids, and stay at home as a mother hen for all my life. I don’t get it,” she exclaimed. “Am I wrong in wanting to do those things? I mean I do love Ron, but I’m not sure that I want to have a family right now. Eventually, probably. But right now? We just ended a war, Gin. I don’t want to settle down and let the world stay as it is, as it was before. I don’t want to bring children into this world until it’s better and I want to be a part of the change and… and I’m rambling. Sorry.”

“You’re not rambling, you’re explaining. And stop apologizing so much, that isn’t going to get you anywhere in the ministry.”

“Wait, so you think I should go for it?” When Ginny nodded Hermione sat back, slightly more at ease now that she knew she had at least one person’s support.

“Listen, my brother can be rather pig-headed. It’s something we Weasleys all have in common. If you want to make a difference in the world then I think you should go for it. I don’t know how much you’ll be able to do, but I feel like if anyone could make a change, it’d be you. But I do think you need to listen to Ron. Explain yourself to him, tell him what you want, and then listen to his side. See if you guys can compromise.”

The girls shared a look and Ginny extended her hand for Hermione to take. Reaching out, Hermione placed her hand in Ginny’s and the younger girl squeezed it in support. Hermione looked down in thought before patting Ginny’s hand in return and pulling away.

“Thank you, Ginny. Honestly, talking to you is always so nice, it’s like a nice trip to the bookstore. You’ve inspired my courage, I think I’ll do it tonight.”

“Promise me you’ll let me know how it goes. I want to know everything, okay? Especially if I have to knock some sense into the stubborn arse myself.”

“I will Ginny, thank you again.” The girls hugged briefly before Ginny grabbed a second bottle of juice, for Harry she claimed, and bounded back up the stairs. Turning back towards the door, and her own boyfriend she took three deep breaths before calling his name. When she didn’t hear a response she walked back outside and found him standing in the garden, chucking gnomes as far as he could.

“Ron?” At her voice his head whipped around and he dropped the angry gnome swinging about in his hand. He looked winded and Hermione could tell he had been attempting to work off his frustrations. “Ron, how would you like to come back to my flat and order some unhealthy food and, I don’t know, watch a movie or something. And then we can have this talk that you’ve been trying to initiate for a few months now. I’ll buy.”

“You know what? That sounds great, Hermione. You can choose dinner this time, but I’m picking the movie. No more documentaries. Let me go tell Mum where we’re headed, you know how she is.” Hermione watched Ron jog into the house and mentally shook herself, preparing to have a discussion that had the potential to cement the future of their relationship.


	2. Chapter II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist posting the second chapter so soon. Enjoy!

Hermione allowed Ron, ever the gentleman, to apparate them to the steps outside her flat and open the door to let her in. She walked into the kitchen to grab her phone while Ron moved towards her television where she kept her film collection. She called the chinese place that was down the street and ordered food to be delivered. The movie Ron had picked, some cheesy romantic comedy that Hermione had never taken from its packaging, was already started by the time the food arrived and they enjoyed their unhealthy meal and bad movie just as Hermione had suggested. Hermione had her head on Ron’s shoulder, feeling drowsy from the food and bad jokes, when she decided that she might as well get the hard part over with.

“Okay, Ron, I think there’s some things we both need to say.” The credits began and Hermione sat up. She put her back to the arm of the couch and her feet tucked under Ron’s leg.

“Yea, there is. Look,” he began, “I know you don’t want to be a stay at home mom, because you feel like that might be a waste of your potential, but being a mother can be really rewarding and me and mum both think you would be absolutely perfect for the job. I mean look at how much you took care of me and Harry when we were kids. I can’t imagine anyone who is better fitted to take care of their own little ones. Our own little ones.”

He offered a fair point, Hermione would give him that. She did have a history of taking care of others, and she was motherly in nature. Plus getting to see the result of all the hard work that goes into being a parent must feel rewarding in its own way, but that wasn’t what she saw herself doing and she had to make him understand that.    

“Ron, I will not be a stay at home mother, it’s out of the question. I couldn’t even if I wanted to, I’m too much of a busy body; my mind is always running.”    

“Well maybe you could just wait until the kids are grown, at least off to school, and then get a job. It’s only a few years, until the youngest is old enough to be off at Hogwarts. Fifteen, sixteen years max.”    

Hermione was shocked. “You want me to wait sixteen years to get a job, Ronald? You want me to sit in a house all day for sixteen years?”    

“Well maybe a few less…” Ron trailed off as his ears turned red. Hermione took a deep breath.    

“I’m going to run to the loo, I’ll be right back.” Hermione went into the bathroom and took a few more deep breaths. This wasn’t going how she had planned, but then again she hadn’t expected the conversation to be easy. Hermione had faced more complicated situations and more stubborn men and came out on top, so there was no way she was going to let Ronald Weasley talk her down. When she walked back out into her living room what she saw was the last thing she expected.    

Ron was down on one knee with a box held between his hands, a small ring sitting inside. His face was two shades redder than it had been when he was arguing, but his lopsided grin let her know he wasn’t upset at all.    

“Hermione, I know I gave you hell a lot when we were younger and I was a real bother a lot of the time. I probably still am, actually, but even though I don’t know a lot of things I know I want to be with you. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you, I want to have children with you and grow old with you. Will you be my wife, Hermione?”    

To say she was shocked would be the understatement of the century. Her stomach dropped and then immediately drove itself up into her throat. He chose now to propose? When they were in the middle of a discussion with no end in sight? This should be the happiest moment in her life, right? Yet she couldn’t even muster up a smile.    

“Ron, I…” The tone of her voice made him falter and she could see his face begin to fall. “I can’t marry you.” For a long time he just sat there, one knee to the ground, box in his hand. Finally he stood and walked back to the couch.    

“Ron you can’t even listen to me when I say that I want to go out and have a career, you can’t even give me _that_ freedom. How am I supposed to marry you when my future is that unclear to you?”

“Well you won’t listen to me when I say that I want a mother for my children. Someone who can always be with them and help them out. I can provide for you, Hermione, you don’t need to worry yourself about silly things like money.”

“This is exactly my point, Ronald. You aren’t listening to me even now!” She sat down next to him and reached out to put a hand on his arm, but he flinched out of her reach. He folded in on himself, looking for all the world like a wounded animal.

“So are you… are you trying to tell me that you don’t want to marry me?”

“I’m saying that I can’t see us getting married until we can find a way to agree on the issues that are important to each of us. If that means we can’t get married right now then yes, I’m saying I don’t want to marry you _right now_.”

Ron immediately shut down. Hermione could see his hope leaving him in the slump of his shoulders and the dimming of his eyes. She felt her own eyes begin to glisten as she watched him put the box back in his pocket.

“Ron--.”

“Don’t. Just, don’t right now alright? I heard you. We aren’t able to agree right now because neither of us listens to the other, but I heard what you’re saying loud and clear. You don’t want to be together and that’s fine. I’ll just see myself out.”

“Ron, don’t be like that. Yes, that’s what I said, but that’s not _how_ I said it. You can’t just walk out on me because of this. Sit down, let’s talk. We needed to have this discussion so let’s have it.

“What discussion, Hermione? You want to tell me again that you can’t see yourself raising our children and that you can’t see yourself as my wife all because I want to provide for you and whatever family we might have someday? You want to sit there and refuse to listen to my wants all the while claiming that I’m not listening to you?”

“Do you even hear yourself, Ronald? Why should your wants be more important than mine? Just because you want to have children doesn’t mean your wife needs to stay at home and take care of them. There are two parents for a reason. And why would I want you to feel all the burden of having to ‘provide for me’? I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Ron.”

“It’s not about being able to take care of yourself, ‘Mione, it’s about the fact that I want to take care of you. You are one of the most capable witches I know. You could kick me to the curb, never look back, and would probably be better off for it. It’s me that needs you. I need you, but that doesn’t mean I want you to take care of me. I want to repay the favor, let you rest and enjoy some time at home, away from the action. We just fought a damn war, Hermione! Take a rest from all that.”

“And what about you, Ron? You fought in the war too, and here you are wanting to just dive right back in. Did it ever occur to you, did you ever hear me when I said that I want to be involved? We may have won the war, but this world still isn’t what it should be, what it could be. I need to be in the action, Ron. I need to find a way to help make this place better. If that means sitting at a desk and filing papers, so be it. If it means researching spells or potions or arithmancy then so be it--.”

“And what if that means having kids that will go on and use the brains they surely got from their mother to do great things?”

“Then so be it, _eventually_. If my path leads me to motherhood I will be glad to take on that role alongside whatever others I’m already filling. It’s just not a priority.”

“And what about our relationship, Hermione, is that a priority? Or is it just _another role_ you’re oh so willing to fill along the way?” This made Hermione pause. Was their relationship a priority to her? It felt nice to have someone to call hers, and Ron had been by her side for longer than she could remember, yet she didn’t give the relationship any more attention than she would anything else. Feeling defeated, Hermione took a deep breath, but she had waited too long to answer. Ron pulled on his coat and started towards the door.

“I’m heading home,” Ron sighed, and he was gone.


	3. Chapter III

There was a knock on Hermione’s window and she considered hexing whatever owl had been sent to wake her at whatever early time it was. After deciding that it likely wasn’t the owl’s own choice, she let it in and directed it towards her treat bowl where it sat waiting for its payment and promptly stuck out it’s leg. Hermione recognized that he belonged to the Weasleys and grew weary of what waited for her, but upon opening the missive discovered it was just Ginny wanting to know ‘what the hell happened to Ron last night.’

Instead of attempting to write out exactly what had occured last night after their dinner, Hermione decided to try and explain it face to face. After sending the owl on his way she dressed herself in jeans and an old Weasley jumper, hoping to show that there were no hard feelings, and went over to her fireplace to make a floo call.

“Hermione, thank Merlin. Ron came home last night, stomped upstairs, and hasn’t come out of his room since. He didn’t even come down when mum made breakfast; something’s wrong.”

“Well, he kinda, maybe… proposed last night?” Hermione winced and Ginny didn’t do much to hide her surprise. “He did what now?” Hermione recounted the story of their dinner, their first discussion, and how she had escaped to the bathroom afterwards trying to find the strength to tell Ron how she really felt about him not even trying to see her side of things. When she got to the proposal, Ginny stopped her.

“So you mean to tell me that right after you two started to get into it, you had actually just been fighting, he decided to pull out a ring and propose?” Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

“I don’t understand it either, honestly. He couldn’t possibly have picked a worse time, and I didn’t know what to say because obviously I wasn’t feeling like I wanted to say yes. We had just been fighting, after all, and so I might have turned him down?”

“ _Might_ have?”

“Okay, yeah, I turned him down. I said no, but I told him that I just meant I couldn’t see it right now. I didn’t say I would never marry him.”

“You still said no, though. That probably stings pretty bad. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I totally see where you’re coming from, and I think you did what’s best for both of you, but I would definitely give him some time to cool off. If you don’t he’ll just make things worse.”

“I know. Would you just keep an eye on him for me? Make sure he takes care of himself still and doesn’t get into too much of a slump, you know?”

“I will. You take care of yourself too. You look rough. Did you sleep alright last night?”

“I slept fine, once I fell asleep. I just need to relax today, take it easy. I think I’m going to go --.”

“To the bookstore,” Ginny finished. Both girls grinned and Ginny shook her head. “You’re _very_ predictable, Hermione Granger. You’ve sought comfort in books since before I’ve known you. Go, shop for something and keep yourself busy, but don’t let this mess make you a stranger. Ron may need his space, but we all still need our friend.”

After assuring her friend that she would talk to them again soon, Hermione severed the connection and got ready to leave. She walked out her door, to right past her wards, and apparated away to Diagon Alley.

 

Flourish and Blotts was rather empty, though that was expected during the early summer months as no students were likely to be flying through, trying to find their books as quickly as they could. There were customers milling about between the stacks, some carrying books in their arms and others clearly just browsing. As she headed towards the back, Hermione could have sworn she saw a figure from her past, but they disappeared as quickly as they had come.

Scanning the titles for something new to read, Hermione found herself moving from the educational section on magical beasts to the arithmancy section. Though she had enjoyed the subject immensely at Hogwarts, she hadn’t had much opportunity to practice it since. She picked out two titles she thought may be interesting and moved onward to the potions section. Potions had never exactly been Hermione’s favorite subject, but she deeply appreciated the skill and focus that it took to be great at it. That wasn’t even to mention how many ways potions could be used. They could cure diseases, counteract other harmful potions, be used for jokes or fun, really the opportunities were endless.

Picking up _Problems Lacking Potion Panaceas: XIV Edition_ she began to scan. She shuffled backwards, towards the seating area she knew she would find just past the aisle end, and continued to read. Just before she reached the end of the stack, however, she came in contact with something much to soft and warm to be a bookcase.

“If you wouldn’t mind watching where you’re go-.” The man behind her, with a voice all too familiar, spun around with a scowl on his face. Before he could even finish his sentence, Hermione had backed away and closed the book.

“I’m so sorry, sir. I was just so captured by the book, and I thought I knew my way to the sitting area and…”

“Yes, I do seem to remember you believing that you knew everything, Miss Granger.” Severus Snape stood before her, no less menacing than he had been during his years at school. Though he had been absent for most of her last year, as he had been recuperating in St. Mungo’s from Nagini’s bite, he was not one to easily be forgotten.

“Again, sir, I’m terribly sorry,” she said.

“Quite.” He stood stock still, not quite meeting her eyes and instead looking just slightly over her head. Hermione, for her part, was in awe. She hadn’t seen this man for nearly two years, and then he just appeared out of the blue, right behind her back, just for her to make an arse of herself.

“Uhm, how are you, professor?”

“I’m doing quite well, Miss Granger. No need for that particular honorific, however, as I am no longer teaching. I find my time is much better consumed when I’m not having to watch over a room of largely idiotic students who don’t know gillyweed from hemlock.” Pretending not to take offense to his words, Hermione searched for something else to say to fill the now tense silence.

“Oh,” was all she could muster. After a hum of acknowledgement from Snape she found the words to continue. “So, if you aren’t teaching, sir, what are you doing now? Surely you’re too young to retire. And you wouldn’t waste all of the potential your mind possesses, I don’t think.”

“I research.” The reluctance to speak with her was clear in his voice, but he had yet to shoulder his way past. Hermione, on the other hand, clearly wanted to say more. Snape had suddenly disappeared from existence after being discharged from the hospital and while most of her friends where happy to pretend he didn’t exist, she had always wondered where he had gone. The silence began to stretch again while she waited for him to return the question, or really say anything at all. As if sensing her discomfort he rolled her eyes and appeased her.

“And what exactly have you been doing since you left Hogwarts?” Hermione wished that she had something as substantial as private research to give him as an answer. Searching for something to give him that wasn’t just “lying at home waiting for another letter to determine my future.”

“Well, right now I’m working on obtaining an internship at the ministry. I’m hoping to maybe work with magical creatures, although anything that helps to reshape the current world into something more fitting would be worthwhile.”

“I do seem to remember you trying to set free all of the Hogwarts elves. I can see you still hold that spark, and probably many misunderstandings about our world as a whole as well,” he scoffed. Hermione was hurt, but she was determined to have a better day than her last, so she simply shook her head.

“Well, professor… or rather, Sir, I’m sorry again for running into you and disturbing you. I had no intentions of disrupting what I’m sure had been a very relaxing day out.” Instead of replying he merely nodded once and walked around her before disappearing at the end of the shelf. How was it, Hermione wondered, that he was able to bother her so easily with so few words?

Returning to her books, she decided that three was a fair number to buy and returned most of her stack, _Problems Lacking Potion Panaceas_ not included, to their original spots before checking out. After leaving the bookshop, she made a quick stop at the stationary shop to pick some new quills and a few new jars of ink. On her way back to the nearest apparition point, Hermione stopped and bought herself a scoop of Earl Grey and lavender ice cream, figuring there was no better day to treat herself.

When Hermione appeared on her doorstep she could tell something was off. Her wards alerted her to the presence of someone in her flat. After retrieving her wand from its holster she carefully pushed the door open, the cautious behavior that had survived them the war never quite leaving her completely. There was a noise from her kitchen and Hermione carefully closed her door, locking it manually before moving slowly into the room.

“Ron, is that you?” The noises stopped before she heard footsteps coming into her living room. A mop of messy black hair popped around her doorway.

“Hey, Mione. I, uh, just thought I’d stop over for a bit. I hope you weren’t busy. Ginny said you were going out shopping and, erm, I heard that you had a rough night and I thought maybe a nice homemade lunch could help. I’ve learned a few things watching Molly and I don’t know. I guess I should’ve let you know and not just let myself in, but I wanted to surprise you with food ready when you got home.”

“Aw, Harry, that’s so sweet. I’d love lunch, _and_ someone to talk to.” Harry just grinned and motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen where he had already begun setting up for lunch. The smell of food as he began to cook for them settled her nerves and she realized that another listening ear was exactly what she needed.


End file.
